La Farinata Genovese – authentic Italian recipe La Farinata (or Cecina, Socca, Fainá) is a typical street food from Liguria, but you can find it all over Italy. It originated in Genoa and later became a typical food of the Ligurian coast, spreading also further afield to Nice, Sardenia and Isola d’Elba. This traditional Ligurian […]
Meatballs in tomato sauce, the authentic Italian recipe Meatballs or ‘polpette’ as the Italians call them, is a famous dish all over the world. The Swedish, Germans and Arabs all have their own versions and proudly include them in their gastronomic traditions. It is so easy to prepare, very versatile and also cost effective. In […]
Bagna càuda: authentic Italian recipe for anchovy lovers The first time we tried this dish was on New Year’s Eve when our friends Christian and Olympia prepared it. We curiously following the process while sipping some prosecco. Italians would typically bagna cauda during the autumn and winter month and it is often on the table […]
Let’s discover the 8 officially prettiest inland villages in western Liguria! Inland, away from the luscious sea side, western Liguria, i.e. the part between Genova and the border with France is a varied and relatively wild land of vineyards, olive groves, lemon trees and forests. It is a mountain landscape dotted with medieval towns and […]
Nutella Nests: authentic Italian recipe for Nutella lovers This delicious Nutella recipe is quick and easy to make and perfect as a lunchbox treat and for Easter! History of Nutella Nutella was born in the Piemonte region of Italy after the World War II, when cocoa imports were disrupted and unreliable. Pietro Ferrero, who was […]
Discover the charming and lesser known ski villages in the Aosta Valley! As well as the main ski resorts of Courmayeur, La Thuile, Pila, Cervinia, Champoluc and Gressoney, the Aosta Valley is full of other charming little ski villages and stations. Most have only two or three chairlifts and a handful of pistes but they […]
Carnevale Chiacchiere: authentic recipe for this Italian dessert Like most events in Italy, Carnevale has its own special dessert! During the period of Carnevale there is no celebration without some type of fried crisp dessert and the most popular one is called Chiacchiere (gossip). In English you might know it as “Angel Wings”, which is a […]
Let’s discover together the Italian Carnival – Carnevale traditions and events in North Italy ! What is Carnival and when is it celebrated Carnival in Italy is a Catholic and Christian celebration but in reality it has very distant origins going back to ancient Greece and the Roman world. The word Carnevale is an Italian […]
Let’s discover some of the magnificent castles of the Aosta Valley. Italy’s smallest Region has over 130 castles and stately residences dating from the Middle Ages, through the Renaissance and up to the early 1900s. Almost all of them can be visited and some also host museum collections. Driving along the valley at night with […]
Travelling is difficult at the moment. But we can still immerse ourselves in the extraordinary beauty of Italy through watching films at home. So let’s take a cinematic journey through Italy with this great collection of light-hearted comedies, romances and even some action movies. Eat, Pray, Love (2010) Julia Roberts falls in love not […]
Discovering new winter sports in the Italian Alps, Aosta Valley The recent announcement that the Italian ski resorts are now going to remain closed for the rest of the 2020/21 season due to Covid is obviously a big blow. For us as a family that lives in the Italian Alps and who love skiing obviously, […]
What is it like sending your kids to local school in France and Italy – part 2 Our move from Northern France to Italy in 2014 was mainly driven by Anita’s job as export manager for AD Fashion, a family owned clothing producing company based in Torino. She had been working for them remotely for […]
Sending your kids to local school in France and Italy – part 1 We moved to the Aosta Valley in Italy with our two boys, Olly who was then aged 11 and Marty aged 18 months in September 2014 from a small village in the Pas de Calais, France called Inxent. Inxent is located 10 […]
Thanks to Richard Noble, owner and manager of Villa Ribota guesthouse in the Langhe for this topical guest blog…. Undeniably a good question, especially when you consider all the political manoeuvring that’s going on… but I want to focus on the dreaded Coronavirus for now. At the beginning of the pandemic, almost a year ago […]
The job of a school group ski instructor… In the winter of 2018/19 I did the BASI level 1&2 ski instructor course with Interski in Pila, Aosta Valley. Having somehow or another managed to pass the course I have so far done 4 week’s paid work with Interski as an instructor, looking after school groups […]
Although it’s not yet official, everyone we speak to locally seems resigned to the fact that the Italian ski resorts might now remain closed for the rest of the season. As is the case all over Europe at the moment, the rules in the Aosta Valley and in the rest of Italy are changing almost […]
It was the best euro 2,000 I ever spent and the wisest decision I ever made when I bought our burgundy red, 10 KW Ravelli wood pellet stufa back in 2014, when we moved into our apartment in Gressan. Sitting there reassuringly in the corner of the living room, next to the tele. He […]
Everyone deserves a little luxury and pampering in life, a little break from all the rushing around. The thermal spa at Pré Saint Didier, in its beautiful Alpine surroundings close to Courmayeur in the Aosta Valley, is just the perfect place for it. I have to admit that before I discovered Pre Saint Didier I […]